The present invention relates in general to trim mounting systems for vehicle interiors, and, more specifically, to an arrangement for securing an inner lining portion or trim panel to a vehicle bodywork or substrate (such as a door frame). At least one clip housing is provided on the trim panel having an elongate hole for receiving the head of a securing clip or pin. The elongate hole has a closed end and an open end. The head of the securing clip is able to be inserted laterally into the open end of the elongate hole, with the provision that the closed end of the elongate hole forms a securing region which cooperates with a shaft of the securing clip. The inner diameter of the securing region is greater than the diameter of the shaft of the securing clip, allowing the clip to shift laterally while remaining secured. After the securing clip is held in the elongate hole, it is pressed into and locked into a mating hole in the substrate in order to mount the trim panel such that the mounting arrangement is hidden from view. Lateral shifting of the shaft ensures that it can align with the substrate mating hole.
One conventional mounting arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,607, which refers to the securing clip as a pressure pin. Each clip has a tip that is to be secured in a corresponding hole of the vehicle substrate. After a plurality of securing clips have been secured in the respective clip housings, the inner lining portion is attached to the substrate by positioning the tips so that they approach the substrate mating holes. The spacings between the individual mating holes, however, are subject to specific production tolerances. In order to be able to compensate for these, the outer diameter of the shaft can be made smaller than the inner diameter of the opening of the housing in the inner lining portion in which it is inserted. The securing clip is thereby retained with lateral play in the opening of the inner lining portion and can assume an offset position relative to the opening. The spacing from one securing clip to another may thus vary in the context of possible offsets in the spacings of the mating holes, and can thus automatically adapt to the actual spacing of the mating holes in the substrate.
To reiterate, in order to assemble an inner lining portion on a vehicle substrate, the securing clips are first inserted into the elongate holes of the clip housings. Subsequently, when the inner lining portion is connected to the vehicle substrate, the tips of the securing clips have to be introduced in the mating holes.
In conventional use, the lateral shifting of the clips within the housing prior to mating with the substrate has resulted in an uncontrolled or random placement of each clip within its range of possible shifting movement at the time of attempted insertion into the substrate. In the event that a substrate mating hole is off tolerance in one direction and the corresponding clip is shifted to an extreme position in the opposite direction, a misalignment may occur that makes insertion difficult or impossible. Thus, the known arrangements do not ensure that the spacings of the securing clips correspond sufficiently to the spacings of the corresponding mating holes so that the tips of the securing clips can be readily inserted.